Epilogue on the race

Turns out the time I listed on my race report was clock time  and my chip time was 35:41, so less suckage than originally thought.   Seriously though, I have only good feelings about the race, those consecutive negative splits tell me I was holding back which is very unlike my usual race M.O. (go out pretty hard, lag in the middle, then try to get back to speed at the end).

Yesterday’s Long Run & A Shoe Question

I had 19 scheduled but I made it a 20 (what’s another mile when you’re at that point?).  I did a couple trips up/down Smile Hill though not the full mile due to a snow barrier, but still got in about .75 mi each way.  As I continued on I started feeling really leg-tired, which was partially the race but it’s not the first time this cycle that my LRs had my legs feeling “used”.

As I picked apart what exactly was bothering me, I came to the realization that the way I’ve been wearing my shoes for the past couple months (quite loose) was not doing me any favors.  I could feel the arch shifting around with each step which has to defy the whole support system of the shoe.

Now, the reason I’d been wearing them loose was my right foot had a hotspot on top around Xmas and it lasted about 3 weeks, so I loosened that shoe quite a bit.  Then, due to the cold, I’ve occasionally been wearing 2 pairs of socks so I loosened them further to accommodate the thickness but never tightened them back up.

I’ve read of guys wearing their shoes so loose they slip in and out of them, so I didn’t think it would matter much, but after I realized their floppiness might be hindering my comfort level, I tightened them up near the end of my run and wouldn’t you know…the rest of the run felt way better, so that was an elementary lesson learned.

What about you guys?  Do you wear your shoes loose or tight?  I’m curious about this.

My First Blog Freebie

A couple weeks ago I got an email from a company saying they’d send me a free case of Vita Coco coconut water if I’d mention it on my blog or Facebook, but it was for a contest that ended that day so I told the guy I wouldn’t be doing another blog post for a couple days but I could mention it on Facebook.

Before I did, I asked Doggie Girl if she’d ever heard of the company or the product and she said Vita Coco is great stuff, then someone else chimed in and said they loved it, so I figured, what the heck, I’ll do it.  So I FB’d and Tweeted it.  Today I got my promised case of Vita Coco.

It’s actually really good!  I was expecting something thicker like regular fruit juice (which I don’t like full-strength and always water down) but it’s really light flavored water, basically.  It only has 60 calories and loads of electrolytes so it was cool to find this in the vestibule when I returned from my run.  It made for a great recovery drink.

I’ve been thinking about freebies since a few of my fellow bloggers often get free products to review.  My problem is I find it weird to ask for stuff, which I assume is the main way to get hooked up.  Hopefully more people like that one guy will happen by, if not, I’m going to have to get some guts and start begging for goodies.

A New Gifted Runner Service

I’ve had a lot of requests recently for putting people’s running shirts together so today I officially went into business as offering that service to anyone who wants it.  I’m not charging much and turnaround time is pretty fast, so if you’re interested check out my Let Me Make Your Shirts! page for info and pricing.

And that’s it for this Monday’s Hodgepodge.  Newsletter day will be tomorrow so keep an eye out. So long for now, peeps.

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